RNL
Global Moderator
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Post by RNL on Dec 3, 2006 1:41:55 GMT
I always try to watch movies all the way through in a single sitting. Sometimes I'm interrupted and have to return to it a few a hours later, but I'd never choose to do that. Further to this: There are a number of films that I've watched in multiple sittings in a classroom setting over the years that I had considered "seen" and added to my Excel database, but I removed them a while ago, feeling that, given the fact that there'd often be a week between 30-minute sections and the fact that I'd often be paying little attention, I hadn't really watched them so much as been in a room in which they were playing. These include Cinema Paradiso, The Mission, GI Jane, Awakenings, The Field, some ludicrous version of Romeo and Juliet, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, and probably many more.
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Jenson71
Ghost writer
Bush is watching you
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Post by Jenson71 on Dec 3, 2006 4:15:29 GMT
Hey hopefully De Niro's "The Good Shepherd" won't disappoint and be an Oscar frontrunner. Scorsese vs. De Niro. Oh I (and the press) love it!
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Boz
Published writer
Posts: 1,451
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Post by Boz on Dec 3, 2006 7:02:32 GMT
Bobby Emilio Estevez 2006 US 1st time; 1 sitting; big screenDecent. A bit melodramatic at times, and the orchestral score could've used some work or just not been used all together. The period soundtrack was nice though. Not as effective as it could have been, and ultimately not really Oscar matierial IMO. Also thoroughly unoriginal considering this is a multi-character drama set in Los Angeles where the climax is a catastrophic event which brings all the characters together.
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Post by bobbyreed on Dec 3, 2006 17:54:34 GMT
I think everybody here should see Festen as soon as possible. Totally unrelated to Festen, but related to the sentiment: "I think everybody here should see..." Jacques Rivette's Celine and Julie Go Boating. Please go into it blind. I did w/o a single word of synopsis or capsule review and it was extremely rewarding. I've been talking about or rather naming some films and filmmakers that, I think, won't come close to pleasing a majority here (even though I stand by them wholeheartedly - e.g. Kiarostami is not for everyone; even more so with Rohmer), but I believe this Rivette film would appeal to nearly all regular posters here. Yes! Everyone should see Celine and Julie Go Boating as soon as possible.
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RNL
Global Moderator
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Post by RNL on Dec 3, 2006 18:46:30 GMT
I have Celine and Julie Go Boating recorded. I actually know nothing about it, but it's been recommended to me numerous times.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Dec 4, 2006 2:29:10 GMT
Bobby(2006/Emilio Estevez) [First Viewing] Several different characters inhabit the hotel where Robert Kennedy was assassinated.Throughout, you can tell Estevez was never apart of this generation, but secretly wished to be his whole life. The large ensemble is impressive, but it gives the film a feeling of a TV movie. Estevez is not a bad director, but he lacks in the writing department. At times, it's as if there are lines purely devoted out of nowhere to the reestablishment time and place. "Have you ever seen "Grand Hotel?", asks Anthony Hopkins, "No, but I've seen 'Bonnie & Clyde'" responds a character. Give me a break! However, the film has it's moments.
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RNL
Global Moderator
Posts: 6,624
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Post by RNL on Dec 4, 2006 2:41:55 GMT
I have Celine and Julie Go Boating recorded. I actually know nothing about it, but it's been recommended to me numerous times. Ah... I've just seen on IMDb that the film is over 190 minutes long. I think I recorded it from Film4, which has commercial breaks, so there's no way the tape caught the whole thing. I'll check, but I don't see how it could have. Oh well.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Dec 4, 2006 6:21:59 GMT
Bubble(2005/Steven Soderbergh) [First Viewing] The friendship between two people in a small town is put on the rocks with the arrival of a young woman.Extraordinary minimalistic film. There is a strange, unsettling atmosphere throughout the film, brought on mainly by the monotone approach, but the result is some interesting film-making, that is also very inspiring to those who are interested in the craft.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Dec 4, 2006 13:06:35 GMT
I have Celine and Julie Go Boating recorded. I actually know nothing about it, but it's been recommended to me numerous times. Ah... I've just seen on IMDb that the film is over 190 minutes long. I think I recorded it from Film4, which has commercial breaks, so there's no way the tape caught the whole thing. I'll check, but I don't see how it could have. Oh well. You're an SP guy?
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Boz
Published writer
Posts: 1,451
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Post by Boz on Dec 4, 2006 19:11:28 GMT
Brick Rian Johnson 2006 US[/color][/size] 1st time; 2 sittings[/color] Sometimes, retrospectively, I can't fathom what made me pass a film by in its theatrical run. I can't agree with either of Capo's main points of criticism; I really enjoyed the sometimes nearly indecipherable slang dialogue, and I felt as though the intended emotional target was hit head on. Add in some of the best camera work of 2006 (No freehand!), the minimalist score Omar mentioned in his 2nd review, and great dead-pan, spot on noir performances from the entire principal cast, and you've got one teen film (if you can even really categorize it as such) that I can like without a tinge of guilt.
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RNL
Global Moderator
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Post by RNL on Dec 4, 2006 23:03:31 GMT
Ah... I've just seen on IMDb that the film is over 190 minutes long. I think I recorded it from Film4, which has commercial breaks, so there's no way the tape caught the whole thing. I'll check, but I don't see how it could have. Oh well. You're an SP guy? What's that mean?
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Capo
Administrator
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Post by Capo on Dec 4, 2006 23:07:30 GMT
Slow play. Long play (LP) doubles the length of the tape, but the quality is reduced somewhat.
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RNL
Global Moderator
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Post by RNL on Dec 4, 2006 23:11:08 GMT
Oh, I think one of my VCRs is long play, but the one I usually record on isn't.
I checked, anyway, and I did miss the end of the film.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Dec 5, 2006 4:16:26 GMT
The Fountain(2006/Darren Aronofsky) [First Viewing] A scientist tries to save his wife from cancer in the present day, as well as in the past and future.A dark, but at times, a very powerful and beautiful film. The cinematography and Clint Mansell's rousing score are what really drive the film. It's a strange film, that could either be a masterpiece or something in between. I'm not sure yet. I'll revisit it one day, as well as Aronofsky's other films.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Dec 5, 2006 18:32:11 GMT
AllegroChristoffer Boe 2004 Denmark 1st time; big screen A famous pianist returns to Copenhagen and is tempted into "the Zone", where lost memories are found again. Very interesting, striking up conscious similarities to Stalker, but at less than ninety minutes, it hardly has the chance to offer much worth. It has an ultra-grainy visual, shot entirely at night; the novelty of a mysterious place where one might retrieve lost memories wears thin halfway through. Thematically of interest, and boasting a great deal of potential, and there seems to be signs, or intentions, of an emotional core somewhere deep down, but it's hidden in remote, distanced dialogue, and character purpose is entirely unconvincing.Borom Sarret Ousmane Sembene 1966 Senegal 1st time; big screen A day in the life of a poor wagoner, who takes people from here to there for little cost. Discard any kind of accusations of crude technicalities, and this is gripping for two primary reasons: firstly, it is a rare look into African culture of the mid-sixties, and secondly, it is so new, so fresh, so different - and consciously so - to conventional Western filmmaking. Camera angles have a kind of conscious ideology to them - such as the low/high angles to denote class division; the dialogue is overdubbed, naively, into French, so as to draw us into empathy by means of remote distancing; and there is a persistent rhythm throughout, invoked by a recurring musical motif, of minimalist and effective percussion.Notting HillRoger Michell 1999 US/UK 1st time; big screen An ordinary bookshop worker can't believe his luck when the world's most popular actress walks into his store, and what begins is an on/off love affair. The synopsis shows much potential, but the commercial intentions of Michell and scriptwriter Richard Curtis let it down. There are genuine moments of interest: Julia Roberts more or less playing herself, attending a birthday meal as the lowly Hugh Grant's date is full of potential; there's some neat visual editing late on when Grant walks down one single street over different seasons of the year, with invisible cuts changing from autumn to snow to spring to summer; and in general, it explores the whole concept of stardom and celebrity, and how these figures of worship are prone to human emotions too. The makers would have achieved much more had they eradicated the lousy one-liners, forced humour and re-drafted the final third into a more succinct, less predictable - perhaps more bitter- affair. But it's just another craft-it-for-the-chicks film, alas.
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Post by Vercetti on Dec 5, 2006 20:07:00 GMT
I just popped in the Miami Vice DVD and it appears the Unrated version has a different opening with the boat races instead of the shitty Linkin Park song. It flaunts Miami's scenery very well like his past films did to LA.
It also leads into/explains the club scene.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Dec 5, 2006 20:16:31 GMT
Charley Varrick(1973/Don Siegel) [First Viewing] A small time bank robber and his team accidentally steal money from the mafia.I was not expecting to be so pleased with this film. Walter Matthau gives a delightful performance as the smart and super cool title character, leading a cast of eccentric characters and situations. Unlike other 70's crime films, this one goes deeper to establish a sort of lunacy in it's atmosphere. Hard to describe, but worthwhile nonetheless, as is Joe Don Baker, as the pipe smoking killer Molly. And almost instantly you can tell that this is probably in Tarantino's top ten favorite films of all time. A masterpiece.
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Boz
Published writer
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Post by Boz on Dec 5, 2006 21:20:05 GMT
Trop belle pour toi Too Beautiful for You Bertrand Blier 1989 France 1st time; 1 sitting[/color] >>>>
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Dec 6, 2006 1:38:53 GMT
Point Blank(1967/John Boorman) [First Viewing] After being betrayed and left for dead, a man seeks his way through a large organization for revenge.Heavily influenced by the French New Wave, but also a very influential film in it's own right, "Brick" being a random example of a film influenced by it. Lee Marvin is at his best, in an almost supernatural role. Boorman's camera takes us places the crime genre has never gone to before, making this not only the best film of it's genre, but one of the best of the 60's.
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Boz
Published writer
Posts: 1,451
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Post by Boz on Dec 6, 2006 19:20:21 GMT
Festen The Celebration Thomas Vinterberg 1998 Denmark/Sweden 1st time; 3 sittingsInteresting film, both in the wince-inducing narrative, as well as the uber-minimalistic, home-movie like shooting style. Really well formed characters. I enjoyed it.
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